LGR4GM Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) He's stabilized the Mitts line and gives off major Larsson vibes. His finishing is questionable but defensive game is good. Asplund is quietly one of the better defensive forwards yet gets 0 love. Edited April 9, 2022 by LGR4GM 1
SwampD Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 2 hours ago, LGR4GM said: He's stabilized the Mitts line and gives off major Larsson vibes. His finishing is questionable but defensive game is good. Asplund is quietly one of the better defensive forwards yet gets 0 love. I think Larsson is a good comparable. Although, I think Asplund may have better hands. And I don't think his defense is all that quiet anymore. It's really good. Not sure if the Sabres would have given up that late goal if he was on the ice instead of Skinner.
bob_sauve28 Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 He fore checks real well. Just chases down plays and causes turn overs. Nice passer. Not sure if he survives in the lineup once Quinn and JJ arrive, though.
Brawndo Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 Asplund is the Sabres Best Defensive Forward. His ability to keep the puck in the Offensive Zone and retrieve the puck back from the opponent has helped to turn the Mitts Line around. EvolvingWild, hockey analytics website, picks three under the radar candidates for the Selke Award and Asplund is in Their Top 3. 4 1
Brawndo Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 28 minutes ago, bob_sauve28 said: He fore checks real well. Just chases down plays and causes turn overs. Nice passer. Not sure if he survives in the lineup once Quinn and JJ arrive, though. Sam Ventura, Dom Galiemi ans Matt Barlowe will find a spot for Him, particularly with those two bars on the Right Side of the chart
JohnC Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 A line composed of Asplund/Gergs/Okposo makes some sense to me. This would be an aggressive checking line with Okposo providing some scoring threat. A comparison to Larsson is a good comparison other than Asplund is a faster skater than Larsson. 4
Ross Rhea Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 Larsson is a really good comparison defensively. Asplund seems to be tracking for more points per year, which is a plus.
French Collection Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 I’d like to see him at C to see if he can handle it. He was a C in junior and AHL. I think he is better than Larsson in the offensive zone. Also Larsson couldn’t play wing. 1
etiennep99 Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 5 hours ago, LGR4GM said: Asplund is quietly one of the better defensive forwards yet gets 0 love. <---- Points to his user icon. 3 2
dudacek Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 Anyone know why he hasn’t really been part of the PK rotation? It’s been nagging me for a while. 1
North Buffalo Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 If Asplund can learn faceoffs better maybe he needs to join the tree cutting service to learn to better wack sticks
Weave Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 I think he’s a 3rd line player. If we get to the point where he’s bumped to 4th line we’ll have a pretty talented fleet of forwards. I can’t really think of a legacy Sabre equivalent. Brian Holzinger without the speed maybe? Is Ric Seiling a comparable? He’s not a Selke level defensive player IMO, but he’s solid defensively. His scoring touch is below average. I think he’s a valuable player that might be overvalued on this roster. 4
Marvin Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) He's very good defencively. He's a decent passer. He has excellent instincts positionally. He does all the boring stuff very well. If Zemgus works on his face-offs, Asplund-Girgensons-Okposo could be a very effective checking line with some offencive touch. Edited April 9, 2022 by Marvin, Sabres Fan 2
Pimlach Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 (edited) 7 hours ago, SwampD said: I think Larsson is a good comparable. Although, I think Asplund may have better hands. And I don't think his defense is all that quiet anymore. It's really good. Not sure if the Sabres would have given up that late goal if he was on the ice instead of Skinner. Larsson is a good comparable. Asplund is limited offensively, so he has to improve that aspect or bring something else to the table to make the team once this team gets "good". 6 hours ago, bob_sauve28 said: He fore checks real well. Just chases down plays and causes turn overs. Nice passer. Not sure if he survives in the lineup once Quinn and JJ arrive, though. Quinn, JJP, and the replacement for Eakin. If I was Adams, I would be looking solid two way center that is good at faceoffs (along with a goalie and a RHD). If we can get one, it would move one of our current centers to wing, making it even harder for Asplund and Peterka to make the team. 5 hours ago, Brawndo said: Asplund is the Sabres Best Defensive Forward. His ability to keep the puck in the Offensive Zone and retrieve the puck back from the opponent has helped to turn the Mitts Line around. EvolvingWild, hockey analytics website, picks three under the radar candidates for the Selke Award and Asplund is in Their Top 3. Why doesn't he play the critical minutes when we are protecting a lead? Last night is an example. We have a big analytics department and a modern day coach. Why is he not used that way? 4 hours ago, dudacek said: Anyone know why he hasn’t really been part of the PK rotation? It’s been nagging me for a while. Same here. Why is he not a fixture on the PK? If he was on PK#1 the Sabre would have to find room for him on the 4th line next year. The great defensive analytics don't match how he is used and that confuses me. 1 hour ago, Weave said: I think he’s a 3rd line player. If we get to the point where he’s bumped to 4th line we’ll have a pretty talented fleet of forwards. I can’t really think of a legacy Sabre equivalent. Brian Holzinger without the speed maybe? Is Ric Seiling a comparable? He’s not a Selke level defensive player IMO, but he’s solid defensively. His scoring touch is below average. I think he’s a valuable player that might be overvalued on this roster. I see no chance at 3rd line next year if Adams' intent is to improve this team. He is not close to Ric Seiling. Sieling had a 30 goal season, three 20+ goal seasons, and two 19 goal season. He was a very good checking line and PK guy. If Asplund was like Seiling this thread would not exist. Asplund is a hard worker and a good defensive forward. He does not bring much to the offensive side of the game, not a physical presence, not a guy showcased on the PK --- but he still could continue to improve and become a solid 4th liner next season. Edited April 9, 2022 by Pimlach
dudacek Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 The offence is definitely a question mark. But his presence with 2 more talented guys has generally made their lines better; it's kinda like a lower-case Jochen Hecht. I've always got time for hustle and smarts. He can play on this team when it's good. 2
GASabresIUFAN Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 25 minutes ago, dudacek said: The offence is definitely a question mark. But his presence with 2 more talented guys has generally made their lines better; it's kinda like a lower-case Jochen Hecht. I've always got time for hustle and smarts. He can play on this team when it's good. I like Asplund. His defensive metrics are excellent. He also seems to play better when teamed with Mitts. However he looks more and more like the 13th utility forward next year. Assuming VO is re-signed, Quinn and JJP make the team, and KA acquires an upgrade over Eakin to center KO and Girgensons and to help get to the cap floor, that makes Asplund the odd man out. 2 1
dudacek Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 10 minutes ago, GASabresIUFAN said: I like Asplund. His defensive metrics are excellent. He also seems to play better when teamed with Mitts. However he looks more and more like the 13th utility forward next year. Assuming VO is re-signed, Quinn and JJP make the team, and KA acquires an upgrade over Eakin to center KO and Girgensons and to help get to the cap floor, that makes Asplund the odd man out. Don’t get too fixated on top 12. Skinner, Tage, Tuch, Mitts, VO, Girgs and KO are ahead of him in the pecking order He’s in a mix with Cozens, Krebs and likely Quinn on the next tier. Even if JJ and an Eakin upgrade push him to 13th forward, he’s unlikely to be a healthy scratch. Hope you are right though. Teams that have 12 forwards better than Asplund are generally good. 2
GASabresIUFAN Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 6 minutes ago, dudacek said: Don’t get too fixated on top 12. Skinner, Tage, Tuch, Mitts, VO, Girgs and KO are ahead of him in the pecking order He’s in a mix with Cozens, Krebs and likely Quinn on the next tier. Even if JJ and an Eakin upgrade push him to 13th forward, he’s unlikely to be a healthy scratch. Hope you are right though. Teams that have 12 forwards better than Asplund are generally good. The forward group is nearly good now despite playing Mr. Give Away (Cody Eakin) each night. We have 8 double digit goal scoring forwards this season with Krebs and Mitts likely to have reached that level had they played a full season. TNT and Skinner are at 30+ with VO and KO knocking on the door of 20. Quinn will probably score 20 next year. However to get good we need to start stopping the puck from going into our net. To make the playoffs we need to become a net positive in goal differential. We are -56 right now. I can see us adding 30-40 goals to our totals assuming continued growth from Cozens and Krebs, healthy years from Tuch and Mitts and reasonable contributions from Quinn and JJP. This would move us from 2.75 gf/gp to 3.25 gf/gp. To make the playoffs we need to drop our 3.5 gaa down to 3. 1
PerreaultForever Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 He's okay. He is one of our better 2-way forwards, but that's also partly because most of our forwards can't play D very well (at this point). Eventually I see him bumped down to the 4th line but it depends on how good we get and what kind of lines they decide to use.
Getpucksdeep Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 3 hours ago, Weave said: I think he’s a 3rd line player. If we get to the point where he’s bumped to 4th line we’ll have a pretty talented fleet of forwards. I can’t really think of a legacy Sabre equivalent. Brian Holzinger without the speed maybe? Is Ric Seiling a comparable? He’s not a Selke level defensive player IMO, but he’s solid defensively. His scoring touch is below average. I think he’s a valuable player that might be overvalued on this roster. Curtis Brown?
Weave Posted April 9, 2022 Report Posted April 9, 2022 1 hour ago, Getpucksdeep said: Curtis Brown? Brown had more offensive upside. 2
dudacek Posted April 10, 2022 Report Posted April 10, 2022 2 hours ago, Weave said: Brown had more offensive upside. I wonder if Asplund does too? Brown had 43 points in 51 games as an AHL rookie, then 24 in 63 in his first NHL year. Asplund had 41 in 75, then 24 in 71 this year. Difference was Brown didn’t have the pandemic interrupting his development in between. 35 points as a bottom 6er is pretty good and not out of Asplund’s reach.
Pimlach Posted April 10, 2022 Report Posted April 10, 2022 17 minutes ago, dudacek said: I wonder if Asplund does too? Brown had 43 points in 51 games as an AHL rookie, then 24 in 63 in his first NHL year. Asplund had 41 in 75, then 24 in 71 this year. Difference was Brown didn’t have the pandemic interrupting his development in between. 35 points as a bottom 6er is pretty good and not out of Asplund’s reach. Brown had two 20 goal seasons and several in the teens. Asplund has work to do.
dudacek Posted April 10, 2022 Report Posted April 10, 2022 Just now, Pimlach said: Brown had two 20 goal seasons and several in the teens. Asplund has work to do. Asplund will be lucky if he scores 10. His career high is literally 10 in any pro league. (Started playing pro at age 16 in Sweden)
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